Editor Pick
La Closerie des Lilas, Brasserie
- January 21, 2001
- Rated 4 of 5 by
StudioZola from Dallas, Texas
"I had thought of telling Scott (Fitzgerald) about... what good friends we all were and had been for a long time at the Lilas." Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast. The Closserie des Lilas is one of my favorite places to drink and dine in Paris and a must for each visit. I have some good company in this opinion, in addition to Hemingway, Ford Maddox Ford, Sartre, Picasso, and Apollinaire also frequented the piano bar, brasserie, restaurant and patio. Although I have dined in the restaurant, I much prefer the atmosphere and the prices in the brasserie. It's best to arrive early, maybe around 8pm and let the maitre d' know you are interested in eating in the Brasserie but that you'd like to have a drink first (you'll probably have to wait anyway). Sit at the bar or at one of the red leather banquettes and order a drink, an American cocktail, perhaps maybe even a Hemingway cocktail. The soft lights, etched glass, mirrors and piano music will transport you to another time. At some point you will be led to your small table and most likely you will be seated very close to a group of Parisian regulars who are talkative and probably chain smoking. A glass of house red wine, a green salad, steak and pomme frites makes for the perfect Parisian meal. (Of course Mad Cow is front page news in Paris now, so beware)
From journal Paris for Writers